Uf's Gillespie Vows He Can Do The Job

College Football

November 30, 2001|By Joe Schad, Sentinel Staff Writer

GAINESVILLE -- Florida tailback Robert Gillespie never has been this angry.

Gillespie is fuming because he believes Earnest Graham, his best friend, was injured intentionally in the Gators' last game. He also is furious because he doesn't believe anybody thinks he can fill in capably against Tennessee on Saturday.

There are reasons to doubt him, namely this: UF is 0-3 in games immediately after an injury to Graham.

"You hate it when a guy can't play, but what are we supposed to do, not play?" Gillespie said. "We go out there and fight every day, just like everybody else.

"My teammates have confidence in me, and so do the other running backs. We don't care what anybody thinks -- the fans, the media, whoever. We know we can go out there and get the job done. It's a slap in the face to constantly hear how we're not going to be able to run the ball because we don't have Earnest Graham."

UF Coach Steve Spurrier said he plans to use Gillespie, redshirt freshman Willie Green and sophomore Ran Carthon in Graham's place against the Vols.

Gillespie, a true senior, is one of the most versatile running backs in school history; he's the only back other than Errict Rhett with 1,800 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards. Yet there is reason for UF fans to worry. In the only game Graham missed this season, at Auburn on Oct. 20, Gillespie rushed 12 times for 4 yards as Florida totaled minus-36 yards on 18 carries. The Gators lost 23-20.

"We needed to block better. They smashed us and looped around and just beat us up," Spurrier said. "I don't think it would have mattered who was running the ball that day."

Running backs coach Lawson Holland defended Gillespie this week, saying, "I don't really understand the question about the Auburn game. Robert was a starter in six or seven games last year and ran the ball pretty well. He's a pretty darned good running back."

It would be easier to dismiss the Auburn theory if not for this: Florida has lost two other times in an identical situation. As a freshman in 1998, Graham played two games before season-ending foot surgery. The Gators lost in Week 3, at Tennessee. As a redshirt freshman in 1999, Graham left the Kentucky game with a thigh injury. The Gators lost at home in Week 5, to Alabama.

This season, Gillespie is averaging 37.4 rushing yards per game and 4.4 yards per carry, well below the 5.2 he averaged over his first three seasons.

This is the biggest game of Gillespie's career, and he knows it. Though Gillespie went to high school in Mississippi, he was born in Los Angeles and wouldn't mind going back for the Rose Bowl national championship game.

"There are true Gators fans, and there are people who want to see us fail," said Gillespie, who has scored just one of his 16 career rushing touchdowns this season. "We've got to play for each other. Me, Ran and Willie want to go out and show that just because one guy is out doesn't mean we can't get the job done."